Zhang Fanfan: The six-year-old film "Three-Body" is a curiosity of mankind

I have always believed that movies, or all art forms, no matter how they are packaged, if they cannot reach people's hearts, they are just floating clouds. They don't need to be nostalgic and cannot carry value.

In 2016, some industries seemed to have begun to decline, but investment in the film and television industry began to boom overnight. Various projects were launched one after another, and financing and mergers were very lively. However, it seemed that everyone was anxious for fear of being left behind by the tide. I was also in it, listening to this legendary story, but just listening, even going in one ear and out the other. To be honest, I didn't care.

The reason why I don't care is that I always believe that movies, or all art forms, no matter how they are packaged, if they cannot reach people's hearts, they are just floating clouds, no matter how they are packaged, and they don't need to be nostalgic and cannot carry value.

As of this year, I have been working on the movie "Three-Body" for six years. The bitterness and joy of the six years are beyond anyone's understanding. I don't know if I could choose another way, but I know that I will not regret it, and I also know that it was not for the Three-Body, I would still do and only do works that I am willing to pay, without any complicated efforts. I'm not the kind of smart person, so I basically don't do two things at once. If I do something, I will do it as best as I think, or I will just not do it.

Some friends said I was stupid and didn't open a business for six years and only did one thing. They suggested that I go and see how other directors made a fortune; others said that I was lucky and bought the rights to "Three Bodies"... ... Yes, I am very lucky. No matter what difficulties I have experienced in the middle, six years later, after reading it hundreds of times, it is still full of charm. Like all three-body fans, it is a masterpiece in my heart.

Around 2009, I wanted to gain a foothold in the market at small and medium costs. Suspense films are a very good film. China has not had a real mystery film for a long time. Most of them are horror films with little competition, so I made the "Secret Room" series. However, this series is not enough to support my preferences, and I feel that I cannot be "satisfied"! I like science fiction, disaster and war themes, and I began to reflect on why I like these films at the same time? I discovered that what touched my nerves was one common denominator, and that was-human curiosity! Human beings have always been curious. It promotes human development, but most of the time, in front of most ordinary people, it is just a small desire to know. Movies are the stage for realizing dreams. This is the charm of movies.

It was with this positioning that I began to look for science fiction themes, so in a sense, I did not pick up "Three Forms". It should be regarded as a kind of encounter. At that time, the producer and I went to the book store and carried the books on the book shelf in a cardboard box. There were no more than 50 books at a time. After loading it three or four times, I could not find a suitable local science fiction novel for adaptation into a movie. Later, we all wanted to write our own scripts, and suddenly discovered Teacher Liu Cixin's "Three-Body". This novel allows me to rebuild my three views and tell the truth. My thoughts rose to a particularly high level, and I began to re-examine myself and the world, thinking very seriously: How should I face my past? Will the present change because of the past, or will the past be let go? How should I treat the present? What might my future look like? Which direction should we go?

The novel has a particularly strong sense of substitution. It feels like there is really a civilization that is about to slaughter all mankind. As a member of the human race, what should I do? Liu Cixin gave three choices: Survivor, Advent and Salvation. Which one do you choose? The choices you make about the future will affect your present, and the decisions you make now will make great changes in your future life.

I feel I have found something worth doing. Teacher Liu Cixin has constructed a brand new theory of the universe, and the entire three novels are suitable for breaking down into six to seven movies, which is a complete and large-capacity system. At that time, I thought that this would take me to do it for ten or eight years, and suddenly I understood what it means to do one or two things well in my life is enough.

When I bought the copyright to the three-body,"Three-body 3" had not yet been released. I didn't know that a few years later, it won the Hugo Award and attracted world attention. I only know that at that time, many partners were blaming us for why the "Baixing Society" went to the "Three Body Copyright". At that time, in everyone's opinion, China science fiction was the most popular thing. They did not think that "Three Body" has what value it is, and I can't think it is a young "Li Beibei".

But I am a fool. I like it and am willing to pay for it! I didn't care what others said, so our "Hundred Stars Society" began to invest in script creation and art design. I refused the film contract and devoted myself to creation.

In July and August of 2014, Yozo Pictures, our largest investor and partner, announced that we would shoot "Three Bodies" movie. The sound of spitting grooves is coming soon, but "Who will definitely do a good job and who will definitely not?" Since the day I transitioned from film art to film director, I have been experiencing various doubts. I don't care much about doubts, because I know that every time I go to a new stage, this kind of suspicion will resurface. If I go to a new stage, I will lose my energy, and this is the decisive factor that determines the ultimate quality of a work-that is, how much energy do you spend on the film during a limited production cycle? This is not a simple arithmetic problem. In the industry, it is more like an IQ problem, and even involves EQ index and interpersonal and public relations knowledge. As I said, I am not the kind of smart person, and I would rather spend my time and energy on my works. Because movies have complex processes and thousands of shots. It wears off patience and will. Without enough concentration, it will not become an excellent work. Why should I care about doubts? Just as Taobao and JD have achieved such a large scale today, when they first started, they also experienced people's curiosity and suspicion. But you have to try. I believe that the movie "Three-Body" will give everyone a new experience.

After buying the global permanent copyright of "Three-Body", we planned a future, which is to be the "Three-Body" of China. This decision has resulted in the copyright of "Three-Body" still in the hands of "Baixing Society", we did not let go and did not buy it to anyone. We only cooperate, not sell copyright.

Before we reached an agreement with our current partners,"Three-Body" had become popular. A heavyweight figure in the circle once approached us and said that he planned to ask a Hollywood team to create "Three-Body" according to Hollywood's model. That is, within 15 minutes of the film, the Three-Body civilization must enter into a decisive battle with humans. As for Liu Cixin's book, He said that in addition to the fact that the two characters "Three Body" have certain fan value and must be preserved, the three books can be thrown directly into the trash can-we refused cooperation. At that time, we were thinking, isn't it a blessing that the copyright of "Three Body" is in our hands? Today,"Three-Body" won the Hugo Award. I believe no one will ever throw the book into the trash again, but at that time, it was a real multiple-choice question in front of us.

"Three-Body" is based on the Eastern philosophical system. Generally speaking, when it comes to Hollywood movies involving alien civilizations, most of them come from extraterrestrials. The humans and humans face the battle. First, they lose and destroy the land. Then they suddenly discover that there is an ancient way to eliminate them. Finally, the people of Earth turn from defeat to victory. However, from the very beginning, after discovering extraterrestrial civilization,"Three Bodies" discovered that the gap between us and our families was not of the same magnitude."Three Bodies" was a tragic drama. In the end, all mankind and the entire Taiyang system were eliminated by higher civilizations.

The way we in the East deal with disasters is completely different from the way we in the West. When China faces a crisis, they do not rush forward first and talk about it. It is not that we have to fight even if we can't win it. They first avoid the conflict directly, preserve our strength, and think about solutions. This is the wisdom of the East. Why did the original "Three-Body" win the Hugo Award? Because it has a deep Eastern imprint, and because it gives mankind a new way of checks and balances in the face of disasters. Therefore, loyalty to the original work is also one of my big prerequisites. Otherwise, we will lose the significance of adapting the original work, lose the opportunity to push such a good original work to more people, and lose the opportunity to move into the wider world.

My first teacher is particularly good at saying, and every time he says,"This painting is wrong, that is wrong, how do you change it?" and gives special guidance. One day, the students cheered,"Old master, please make a painting for us." The old master's hands were trembling. After he finished drawing, we saw that it was not as good as he said. The tricks he taught us were not seen in his painting. He would be very suitable to be a teacher. My college teacher is another kind. She doesn't talk much, but when she reaches out her hand, oh, she draws absolutely well. We asked "How do you understand this?" He couldn't say it, so he would say,"Just practice this." He would not guide you on how to draw. He would just change it on our paintings, and we would read and understand it ourselves.

There are many such two talents in our film industry. Some people are particularly good at talking, but making movies is a mess. Some people can't say a word. They just keep filming and it's so good. Very few people can say and shoot at the same time, which is rare. If I choose one, I'd rather do one that can't tell, but I can't tell. When I'm done shooting, you can see.

As this interview was about to be completed, I became a "hot spot" again-on June 18, 2016, overnight, the Internet began to spread rumors that the movie "Three-Body" project was disbanded and all the filming materials were abandoned. Various media began to bomb my mobile phone early in the morning. Throughout the day, the controversy between the film company's clarifications and rumors became the highlight of everyone's expectations. It was at this time that I saw such a circle of friends, which came from our sound engineer, Here's what he wrote: "Santi has been hot commented today, and all kinds of rumors are flying everywhere. Regardless of whether it is true or false, everyone is changing the story, and each has its own motives... Don't forget what the book Three-Body is about? It's just that we humans are too stupid, and we don't even think we are stupid, think that aliens are only stupid, do you think we are stupid? Today's incident is really a big thorn for the three-body..."- I laughed, and it relieved me again. This is what "Three Forms" means to people. It allows us to jump out of ourselves from time to time and look up at the stars...

Now the movie "Three-Body" has entered post-production and will be available to you soon. I really hope that this work, which has hundreds of staff members, can satisfy your curiosity and bring you the pleasure of watching movies. I also hope that "Three-Body" will allow us to jump out of ourselves and think about the future of mankind, just as the original work conveys it. Our wish.

I'm glad I'm doing what I love and looking for fun in the process of doing it. I enjoyed it.

Editor: yvonne